[Federal Register: April 9, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 69)]
[Notices]
[Page 18926-18927]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr09ap04-77]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Notice of Availability of a Final Environmental Impact Statement/
Environmental Impact Report on the South Bay Salt Ponds Initial
Stewardship Plan, San Francisco Bay, CA
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public of the availability of the
Final Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report for
the South Bay Salt Ponds Initial Stewardship Plan. The Record of
Decision will be signed no sooner than 30 days from this notice.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of
Fish and Game plan to manage 15,100 acres of former commercial salt
ponds in south San Francisco Bay using an interim strategy while a
long-term restoration plan is developed and implemented. This interim
strategy, the Initial Stewardship Plan (ISP), would use existing and
new water control structures, pursuant to permits, to release any
remaining saline pond waters to the Bay and to prevent further salt
concentration by circulating waters through the ponds. The ponds are
located at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge
and at the Eden Landing State Ecological Reserve.
DATES: A Record of Decision will occur no sooner than 30 days from the
date of publication of this notice. In accordance with NEPA, we have
filed the EIS with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Each
Friday, EPA publishes a Federal Register notice that lists EISs
received during the previous week. The EPA notice officially starts the
30-day review period for these documents. It is the goal of the Fish
and Wildlife Service to have the FWS notice published on the same date
as the EPA notice. However, if that does not occur, the date of the EPA
notice will determine the closing date for the Final EIS.
ADDRESSES: The Final Environmental Impact Statement/ Environmental
Impact Report can be viewed at http://www.southbayrestoration.org/documents.
Copies of the Final Environmental Impact Statement/
Environmental Impact Report are also available for review at the
following government offices and libraries:
Government Offices--Don Edwards San Francisco Bay NWR, 1
Marshlands Road, Fremont, CA 94536, (510) 792-0222; Don Edwards San
Francisco Bay NWR, Environmental Education Center, 1751 Grand
Boulevard, Alviso, CA 95002, (408) 262-5513; California Department of
Fish and Game, 7329 Silverado Trail, Napa, CA 94558, (707) 944-5500.
Libraries--Alviso Library, 5050 N. 1st St., Alviso, CA 95002-1060,
(408) 263-3626; Hayward Public Library, 835 C St., Hayward, CA 94541-
5120, (510) 293-8685; Menlo Park Public Library, 800 Alma Street, Menlo
Park, CA 94025-3460, (415) 858-3460; Mountain View Public Library, 585
Franklin St., Mountain View, CA 94041-1998; (650) 903-6335; Union City
Library, 34007 Alvarado-Niles Road, Union City, CA 94587-4498; (510)
745-1464.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Margaret Kolar, Refuge Complex
Manager, San Francisco Bay NWR Complex, P.O. Box 524, Newark,
California 94560, (510) 792-0222.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) prepared a Final Environmental
Impact Statement evaluating the impacts of managing the South Bay Salt
Ponds in San Francisco Bay under an Initial Stewardship Plan.
On March 6, 2003, the State of California and the United States of
America acquired 15,100 acres of commercial salt ponds in South San
Francisco Bay from Cargill, Inc. The purpose of the acquisition was to
protect, restore and enhance the property for fish and wildlife, as
well as to provide opportunities for wildlife-oriented recreation and
education. The Final Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental
Impact Report (Final EIS/EIR) on the South Bay Salt Ponds Initial
Stewardship Plan addresses the interim management of these ponds prior
to their long-term restoration.
Under commercial salt production, Cargill managed the South Bay
salt ponds as shallow water ponds with various salinity levels. The
salinity levels varied both geographically, based on the location of
the pond within the system, and temporally, based on seasonal and
climatic conditions. Although these ponds were managed for salt
production, they provided habitat for many water bird species including
waterfowl and shorebirds.
The restoration of the salt ponds is taking place in three
independent stages. First, Cargill is reducing the salinity levels in
the ponds by moving the saltiest brines to its plant site in Newark,
California. After the salinities are reduced to levels that are allowed
to be discharged to the Bay, Cargill will no longer manage the ponds
for salt production. Management of the Baumberg ponds will be turned
over to the California Department of Fish and Game and management of
the Alviso ponds and West Bay ponds will be turned over to the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service.
In the second stage of restoration, the ponds will be managed by
the agencies in a manner that provides habitat values while the long-
term restoration plan is being developed and implemented. In this
Initial Stewardship stage, Bay waters will be circulated through the
ponds following installation of water control structures and the
existing levees will be maintained for minimum flood protection. The
Final EIS/EIR covers only this second stage of restoration, i.e.,
Initial Stewardship.
The third stage of restoration is the actual long-term restoration
of the salt ponds to a mix of tidal marshes, managed ponds and other
habitats. The planning process for this long-term restoration has just
begun and will include a substantial amount of data collection,
studies, modeling efforts, and public involvement. The long-term
planning process will include development of a separate EIS/EIR.
Implementation of the long-term restoration plan is expected to be
conducted in phases beginning in 5 years, but with some phases
extending beyond 20 years. Therefore, some ponds may be managed under
the Initial
[[Page 18927]]
Stewardship Plan for as little as 5 years, while others may require
such management for over 20 years.
On March 20, 2003, the Service published a Notice of Intent to
prepare an EIS in the Federal Register (68 FR 13721). The purpose was
to maintain and enhance, to the extent possible, the biological and
physical conditions within the salt ponds for the period after
commercial salt production ceased until long-term restoration was
implemented. Scoping activities in preparation for the draft EIS/EIR
included a public meeting on March 23, 2003 and a meeting with a group
of technical experts on April 17, 2003.
On January 23, 3004, the Service published a Notice of Availability
of the Draft EIS/EIR in the Federal Register. A public meeting to
accept comments on the draft document was held on February 4, 2004 in
Fremont, California. In the Draft EIS/EIR, we proposed to circulate Bay
waters through reconfigured pond systems and release pond contents to
the Bay. This would require installation, replacement or removal of 55
water control structures, breaches or levee fills. We also proposed to
manage a limited number of ponds in different manners: as seasonal
ponds; as higher salinity ponds; as muted or full tidal ponds; or at
different water levels in winter or summer. Project impacts were
described in the Draft EIR/EIS.
Development of the Final EIS
The Draft EIS/EIR was jointly developed with the California
Department of Fish and Game. Because of differences in notice and
comment periods, the Final EIR under the California Environmental
Quality Act has already been prepared and issued under a separate
cover. However, all comments received by either the Service or the
Department of Fish and Game during either the EIR or EIS comment
periods, are included and considered in the Final EIS/EIR. A total of
21 comment letters were received from 17 different organizations or
individuals. The Final EIS/EIR incorporates all changes or additions to
the draft into one complete document.
The analysis provided in the Final EIS/EIR is intended to
accomplish the following: inform the public of the proposed action;
address public comments received on the Draft EIS/EIR; disclose the
direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental effects of the proposed
actions; and indicate any irreversible commitment of resources that
would result from implementation of the proposed action.
Alternatives Analyzed
The Final EIS/EIR considers four alternatives for Initial
Stewardship: a No Action Alternative, a Seasonal Pond Alternative, and
two Pond Management alternatives which vary based on the dates for
initial release of saline pond waters.
Under the No Action alternative, there would be no flow circulation
through the pond systems. Remaining brines would dry through the
evaporation process and the ponds would then fill seasonally with
rainwater in winter. No new public access would be available. No action
would be conducted by the agencies, including no levee maintenance, and
some levees would likely fail during this period, which could impact
water quality in the Bay, flood protection for adjacent homes and
businesses, and existing public access on the levees. The existing open
water ponds in South San Francisco Bay would be dry during most of the
year which would reduce their value for wildlife.
In Alternative 1, the Seasonal Pond Alternative, there would be no
flow circulation through the pond systems. Remaining brines would dry
through the evaporation process and the ponds would then fill
seasonally with rainwater in winter. No new public access would be
available. The only action taken by the agencies would be to maintain
the levees at their current standard of maintenance to prevent release
of existing brines, to assure continued public access, and to maintain
a minimum level of flood control. The existing open water ponds in
South San Francisco Bay would be dry during most of the year which
would reduce their value for wildlife.
Under the two pond management alternatives, bay waters would be
circulated through the ponds, the pond levees would continue to be
maintained at the current level, existing public access would continue
and the ponds previously kept closed by Cargill would be open to
limited public access. The majority of the existing open water ponds
would remain in open water habitat throughout the year thereby
maintaining important wildlife habitat values. The two action
alternatives differ in the timing of the initial release of the
existing low to mid salinity brines in the ponds.
In Alternative 2, the Simultaneous March/April Initial Release
alternative, the contents of most of the Alviso and Baumberg Ponds
would be released simultaneously in March and April. The ponds would be
managed as a mix of continuous circulation ponds, seasonal ponds and
batch ponds. Higher salinity ponds in Alviso and in the West Bay would
be discharged in March and April in later years when salinities in the
ponds have been reduced to required levels. The Island Ponds (A-19, 20,
and 21) would be breached and open to tidal waters. This alternative
would delay implementation of Initial Stewardship for over a year and
could impact the ability of the agencies to maintain low salinities
needed to meet permit discharge requirements.
In Alternative 3, the Phased Release Alternative, many lower
salinity ponds in Alviso and Baumberg would be discharged in July, and
medium salinity ponds would be discharged the following March and
April. The higher salinity ponds would be discharged in later years and
the Island Ponds would be breached as in Alternative 2. The ponds would
be managed as in the Simultaneous March/April Release Alternative
during the continuous circulation period. Alternative 3, the Phased
Release Alternative, is the preferred alternative in the Final EIS/EIR.
This notice is provided pursuant to regulations for implementing
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: March 30, 2004.
David G. Paullin,
Acting Manager, California/Nevada Operations Office.
[FR Doc. 04-7692 Filed 4-8-04; 8:45 am]
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